The price of Hongyun Rice had quadrupled from 5 yuan per jin to 20, so its sales would definitely take a hit.
But Wu Jun wasn’t worried. This wasn’t a rash decision he had made on a whim.
Ever since he’d first considered raising the price, he’d been mulling over the right amount but had never settled on a number.
Seeing Hongyun Rice’s inspection certificate today finally gave him the confidence to raise the price to 20 yuan.
He didn’t know if Hongyun Rice truly had health benefits, but the various beneficial trace elements it contained had been genuinely verified by an authoritative institution.
Didn’t pork still sell even when its price rose to 30 yuan per jin? Besides, Hongyun Rice not only tasted amazing but was also highly nutritious, and it was only 20 yuan per jin. Meng Zalang rice at a similar price point was flying off the shelves, so there was no reason Hongyun Rice should suffer from sluggish sales.
Besides, the national market was huge. How big was Shimen City in comparison? If things really didn’t work out here, he could expand to other provinces. If he couldn’t sell it in his own city, the markets in the four megacities—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen—were still completely untapped.
The game could produce a maximum of 100 tons per day. Spread across the country’s 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities, that averaged out to just a little over 3 tons per province. Would that be hard to sell?
Not at all. In the very beginning, a single, out-of-the-way supermarket in the residential complex had managed to sell 3 tons of rice in a day. What was that compared to an entire, massive province?
Hongyun Rice wasn’t the only brand selling for over 20 yuan a jin. Wu Jun did a quick online search and found more than ten other varieties.
There were two varieties imported from Japan alone: Hitomebore and Ying Zhiguang. Just by marketing themselves as "pure, natural, and pollution-free," these two types of rice could sell for over 30 yuan per jin, and their sales were quite good.
In today’s world, people were paying more and more attention to healthy eating. Slap a "natural" or "organic" label on anything, and its price would surely double.
In terms of being natural and organic, Hongyun Rice surpassed those two Japanese brands, and it was more nutritious to boot.
Selling online through a dedicated web store was another option. Now that Hongyun Rice had all the necessary permits and a full set of inspection certificates, Wu Jun was prepared to follow the example of other businesses and launch an e-commerce site if brick-and-mortar sales truly stalled.
Things were going smoothly on Bian Xuedao’s end. As soon as he submitted the various inspection certificates, the relevant authorities immediately posted an official refutation of the rumors on their website. The cybersecurity department also followed the digital trail and arrested several individuals who had been spreading the false information. In a single afternoon, all the rumors that had been circulating online for the past two days were wiped clean.
Chen Lin successfully delivered all the necessary materials to Dong Lizhu, who was at the convention center in Ancient City, and smoothly secured their spot in the exhibition.
After the four regional managers announced the price adjustment, they met with predictable backlash. Most restaurants found the sudden jump from 5 to 20 yuan per jin, with no transitional period, difficult to accept. However, a good number of loyal customers continued to place orders for Hongyun Rice.
When the rice was selling for 5 yuan per jin, these businesses knew what was coming. ’Such delicious rice for only 5 yuan? The price is bound to go up once the market is established.’ And just as they’d expected, it did. However, this particular price hike was a bit... audacious.
On the day of the price adjustment, sales were a pitiful 11 tons, but revenue still reached 440,000 yuan.
Sales volume had dropped to just one-seventh of what it was before, yet revenue was still over half the previous amount. The situation wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
According to reports from Xu Fei and the others, Hongyun Rice had practically become a signature attraction at the restaurants that served it. Sales of dishes like egg-fried rice and even plain steamed rice had multiplied several times over.
Restaurants using Hongyun Rice were doing noticeably better business than neighboring ones that didn’t. Wanrong Restaurant, where Qian Na used to work, was a prime example.
After receiving the day’s market feedback, Wu Jun had a clear picture. ’I can’t just rely on these restaurants from now on.’ His current clientele consisted entirely of restaurants. On the retail side, only the small supermarket in Tianyuan Residential Complex was selling the rice. If ordinary people wanted to buy it, they had to make a trip to that one small store.
The supermarket’s location was out of the way, with a limited reach. It was only convenient for residents of Tianyuan Residential Complex. Anyone else who wanted to buy the rice had to come from far away. Few people were willing to go to that much trouble just for something to eat.
He planned to follow Meng Zalang’s example and open dedicated retail stores in the city’s various commercial districts, catering directly to the public. He would get started on that after the Rice Expo was over.
He’d had the idea the very first time he saw one of Meng Zalang’s spacious, brightly-lit stores. But back then, he had neither the money nor the manpower. He couldn’t even afford the rent for a prime, street-facing storefront. It had been nothing more than a daydream.
Now, he had the money and the people. The time was ripe.
He stayed at the office until a little after five, then drove back to the supermarket.
The moment he walked in, Wu Jun saw Xu Minli sitting on a chair behind the checkout counter, looking completely preoccupied. She didn’t even notice him enter.
"What’s wrong, Sister Minli? Did something happen?" Wu Jun asked, placing a hand on the counter and leaning toward her.
"Oh, you’re off work, Wu Jun," Xu Minli said, snapping out of her daze. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. "It’s already six? The day went by so fast."
"Brother Jun! Auntie! Dinner’s ready!" Xu Fei called out, emerging from the kitchen and wiping her hands.
"Coming!" Wu Jun replied. He walked behind the counter and gently guided the dispirited Xu Minli into the kitchen.
During dinner, Xu Minli still looked burdened by her thoughts. Wu Jun couldn’t help but ask again, "Sister Minli, what is it? You can tell me anything."
"It’s nothing, really. Let’s just eat," Xu Minli insisted, still unwilling to talk about it.
The more she refused to speak, the more anxious he became, his curiosity scratching at him like a cat.
"Xu Fei, you tell me," Wu Jun said, turning to her.
Xu Fei glanced at her aunt, then back at Wu Jun, and said quietly, "After the price hike... the supermarket didn’t sell a single bag of rice today."
It clicked for Wu Jun instantly. After the price increase, a single bag of rice cost 1,000 yuan. The customers at this small supermarket were mostly ordinary, working-class people. Anyone who spent nearly half a month’s salary on a single bag of rice would surely be in the doghouse when they got home.
A product that expensive was bound to be a tough sell in a small supermarket like this.
With the rice no longer selling, the supermarket’s daily revenue had been cut by more than half. No wonder Xu Minli looked so downcast.
"Is that all? And here I was, worried it was something serious," Wu Jun said with a smile, putting an arm around Xu Minli’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, Sister Minli. Would I really cut off your cash flow? I have a plan."
Hearing this, Xu Minli quickly explained, "Wu Jun, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not blaming you at all. Even without the rice, the supermarket does better business than my old glasses store ever did."
"I know what kind of person you are, Sister Minli. You don’t have to say that. Let’s eat. This is a small problem," Wu Jun said with a laugh, placing a piece of food in her bowl with his chopsticks.
That evening, Wu Jun contacted his cousin, who was in charge of producing the packaging. He asked him to make some smaller bags. Right now, Hongyun Rice only came in one size—a 25-kilogram bag—which was far too limiting.
By designing smaller packages, even if the unit price remained the same, the lower total cost would be more likely to encourage customers to make a purchase.